Do you need a snowblower in Ottumwa, IA?
Your answer for Ottumwa
Cordless single-stage
Plenty falls in Ottumwa, about 3.1 tons a winter on this driveway, but it comes in shallow storms a small cordless machine can take in.
Before you buy, check the battery is rated to clear the whole driveway in one charge in the cold, or get a second battery. Batteries lose range below freezing.
How much snow Ottumwa gets
- Snow a year
- 24 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 1.0 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 10 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 38
Light, below most snowy cities. A typical snowy US city gets about 1.4 times as much. It tends to stay, so each storm lands on the last one.
On a two car driveway that is about 3.1 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Ottumwa
- Oct0.5
- Nov1.6
- Dec4.2
- Jan7.1
- Feb5.8
- Mar3.0
- Apr1.4
Snow worth clearing runs from November to April, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in October.
Ottumwa and its neighbours
Ottumwa is number 38 of 41 Iowa towns here for snowfall; Mason City gets the most at 44 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oskaloosa, IA | 22 | 24 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Pella, IA | 37 | 29 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Newton, IA | 57 | 29 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Kirksville, MO | 57 | 19 in | A shovel is enough |
| Coralville, IA | 63 | 28 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Iowa City, IA | 64 | 28 in | Cordless single-stage |
Where these numbers come from
Read next: Snowblowers on a gravel driveway and Single-stage or two-stage.
NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals from Ottumwa Industrial Airport, 6.0 miles from Ottumwa. A normal winter, not this winter's forecast. Snow is weighed at 6.24 pounds a cubic foot, fresh and fairly dry; wet spring snow can weigh three times that.